Manitoba latest PNP draw 2023

Manitoba held a draw this week under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Of the 566 Letters of Advice to Apply Manitoba issued in this draw, 157 were issued to candidates who declared a valid Express Entry profile number and job seeker validation code.

All of Canada’s provinces and territories (except Quebec and Nunavut) operate their own PNPs to select the economic immigration candidates that they feel have the best chance of becoming economically established, settling in the province, and contributing to the provincial economy.

The PNP is the main economic immigration pathway for newcomers to Canada. By 2025, the Immigration Levels Plan has a target of 117,500 new permanent residents admitted to Canada via the PNP per year, more so than Express Entry (114,000).

After a PNP candidate receives provincial nomination, they then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for a chance to get status as a permanent resident of Canada.

According to IRCC, says there are three main criteria they use when evaluating a permanent residence application. The candidate must:

1. have the ability to become economically established in Canada.
2. be named in a nomination certificate issued by the government of a province or territory.
3. intend to reside in the province or territory that nominated them.

In most instances, getting a provincial nomination is considered enough to demonstrate the ability to become economically established because the application for provincial nomination and the one for permanent residence often have overlapping requirements.

Sometimes though, IRCC may need additional clarification if for instance there is a perceived skills mismatch with a candidate’s job or job offer, or if they see a candidate is relying exclusively on financial aid from a family member.

This can also have an impact on your demonstrated intention to permanently live in the province nominating you.

If nominated on a PNP program, you should be able to prove your intention to live and work in the province of nomination.

If IRCC has reason to question this intent, they will invite you to address these concerns.

Manitoba invited 566 candidates on April 6 through three streams of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP). Including, 157 Express Entry candidates.

Through the Manitoba Skilled Workers Stream, they held two separate draws:

Occupation-specific selection

Profiles declaring current employment in Manitoba in occupations identified with high labour needs based on data published by Statistics Canada were considered.

• • Number of Letters of Advice to Apply issued: 225
  • Ranking score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 615

The occupations under the following National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 major groups were considered in this draw:

• 62 – Retail sales and service supervisors and specialized occupations in sales and services

The second skilled worker draw invited 226 candidates from all occupations with minimum scores of 670.

All occupations

All profiles that were not selected in the occupation-specific selection were considered.

• Number of Letters of Advice to Apply issued: 226
• Ranking score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 670

The province also invited 61 candidates through the International Education stream and 54 Skilled Worker Overseas candidates were invited through a Strategic Recruitment Initiative. They required a minimum score of 708.

What exactly is meant by “Invitation to Apply under a Strategic Initiative” for MNPN?

The Strategic Initiatives are recruiting drives. Manitoba sometimes has recruiting missions off-shore. If you have attended one of these events and been interviewed by an employee, you may have received a letter from them — then you will be awarded those points. Or you may have had an on-site interview in Manitoba.

• Examples offshore: Manitoba Immigration and Economic Opportunities
• Example in Manitoba: Morden Immigration

It means you have applied to the MPNP program AND been nominated by Manitoba to get the extra points.

It’s an additional program to boost candidate Express Entry scores if you are are willing to live and work in Manitoba.

International Education Stream

Profiles that declared meeting International Education Stream eligibility requirements.

• Number of Letters of Advice to Apply issued: 61

Skilled Worker Overseas

Profiles that declared being directly invited by the MPNP under a Strategic Recruitment Initiative.

• Number of Letters of Advice to Apply issued: 54
• Ranking score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 708

How does Manitoba Strategic Recruitment Initiative Works

The Manitoba Strategic Recruitment Initiative allows the province to nominate qualified persons for immigration.

Strategic Recruitment Initiatives are based on the discretion of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program with attention paid to program needs and available resources.

Eligibility – Manitoba Skilled Worker Overseas

To apply to the Skilled Worker Overseas (SWO) pathway, you must demonstrate an established connection to Manitoba through either

• the support of family members or friends (Manitoba Support),
• previous education or work experience in the province (Manitoba Experience), or
• an Invitation to Apply received directly from the MPNP as part of a Strategic Recruitment Initiative (Manitoba Invitation).

You can find more information about the different types of eligible connections below.

In addition to your connection to Manitoba, you must score at least 60 points based on five factors: language proficiency, age, work experience, education, and adaptability. If you do not have a connection to Manitoba, you are not eligible to apply under SWO, regardless of your points total.

Connection to Manitoba

Manitoba Support

A Manitoba Supporter is an established resident of the province who is a friend or relative of the applicant and is willing and able to review and endorse the applicant’s plan for settling and finding employment in their destination community. A Manitoba Supporter must be the applicant’s close relative or friend/distant relative, and must be

• able to provide documents proving they reside and are established in Manitoba and have been living in the province continuously for at least one year (e.g., copy of Manitoba Health Card);
• a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• able to demonstrate sufficiently close ties to the applicant and to Manitoba;
• able to demonstrate that any applications they previously supported resulted in successful, permanent economic establishment in Manitoba; and
• able to support the applicant’s Settlement Plan.

For close relatives, both the applicant and the supporter must provide documents proving their familial relationship. Close relatives may support the application of more than one skilled worker at a time provided they satisfactorily demonstrate their ability to do so.

To be considered a close relative, a Manitoba Supporter must be related to the applicant (or the applicant’s spouse) as their

• sister or brother,
• niece or nephew (i.e., child of your sister or brother),
• aunt or uncle (i.e., brother or sister of your mother or father),
• first cousin (i.e., child of your aunt or uncle),
• mother or father, or
• grandmother or grandfather.

For friends and distant relatives, their household must not be currently supporting the settlement of another MPNP applicant, provincial nominee or person under another Canadian immigration program.

Finally, your Manitoba Supporter cannot be and the MPNP will not accept a Settlement Plan Part 2 signed by

• a paid immigration representative;
• anyone who is not a demonstrated relative or friend of the applicant or the applicant’s spouse; or
• a Canadian elected official or their staff.

Applicants with a Manitoba Supporter should declare that person and their contact information for correspondence with the MPNP so that your Supporter is authorized to discuss your application. The MPNP requires up-to-date contact information for your Manitoba Supporter. Your Supporter must inform the MPNP if they move to a new address or if there are any other changes to their contact information. If the MPNP is unable to contact your Supporter using the information on file, your application may be refused.

Note: The MPNP is not a sponsorship program. Because the MPNP is an economic immigration program, all applicants must be employable and adaptable skilled workers with job-ready English, sufficient settlement funds and the genuine intention and ability to economically establish in Manitoba as permanent residents.

Frequently asked questions

Can children support parents?

No. Children living in Manitoba cannot serve as a Manitoba Supporter for their parents’ MPNP application. Instead, visit IRCC > Sponsor your parents and grandparents.

Can Canadians or permanent residents support an application for their spouse?

If you are married to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you are not eligible to apply to the MPNP, but you may qualify under IRCC’s Spousal Sponsorship category. Please visit IRCC > Spouse and Common Law Application.

Manitoba Experience

Manitoba Experience means that in the past, you lived in the province as a temporary foreign worker or international student.

If you were a temporary foreign worker, you must have worked full-time for a Manitoba employer at least six consecutive months. You will be asked to submit a signed letter of reference on company letterhead and a copy of your Manitoba work permit.

If you were an international student, you must have attended and completed an authorized education or training program at a public, or registered private vocational, post-secondary institution in Manitoba; language studies are not authorized. You will be asked to submit your study permit(s), your academic transcripts and the certificate, diploma or degree you received for completing the program.

Manitoba Invitation

The MPNP regularly issues Invitations to Apply to qualified candidates who are identified through one of our Strategic Recruitment Initiatives in Manitoba and overseas. Issuance of an Invitation to Apply is at the sole discretion of the MPNP and applicants cannot self-select for eligibility with this connection to our province.

To apply to the MPNP with the Manitoba Invitation connection, in your MPNP Online application, you must upload the Letter of Invitation you received directly from the MPNP after being interviewed by a program officer during a recruitment mission or exploratory visit.

Recruitment missions

The MPNP regularly travels overseas on recruitment missions, often in partnership with Manitoba employers. Watch this page for news of the next MPNP initiative.

Exploratory visits

An exploratory visit is a pre-arranged trip that potential MPNP applicants may make to the province of Manitoba to research communities and employment opportunities to help them make an informed decision on whether they have the intention and ability to find employment and settle with their family in Manitoba as permanent residents.

After the MPNP interview included in a pre-approved exploratory visit, we may invite you to submit an MPNP Online application. Note that it is the Invitation to Apply, not the exploratory visit, that establishes a candidate’s requisite Manitoba connection.

The MPNP conducts exploratory visits at our discretion as resources allow in order to provide opportunity for qualified skilled workers, otherwise ineligible for our program, to establish the connection to Manitoba required of all MPNP applicants. Exploratory visits must be approved by, then arranged through, the MPNP only by invitation following our acceptance of your request.

Eligibility criteria to participate in visits and missions are subject to change but generally include that you

• are between the ages of 21 to 45;
• can satisfy the MPNP that you do not have a stronger connection to another province;
• can demonstrate the employability and adaptability required of all MPNP applicants;
• have completed at least a one-year, post-secondary education or training program for which you received a diploma, degree or certificate;
• have worked at least two years full-time in the past five years and can demonstrate your ability to find a job in Manitoba in that occupation (including plans to achieve certification in the case of regulated occupations);
• have the genuine intention and ability to economically establish and settle in the Canadian province of Manitoba as a permanent resident demonstrated, in part, with a Settlement Plan; and
• provide to the MPNP, at the time you apply to participate in the initiative, official results of an approved language test taken within the past two years showing you achieved scores equivalent to at least CLB 5 in each test category and overall.

Only to candidates whose request is accepted does the MPNP provide instructions on what to do during an exploratory visit and what documents to bring with you (e.g., education certificates and employer letters of reference). Activities to undertake during an exploratory visit include meeting with prospective employers; consulting with occupational regulatory bodies; and exploring housing, school and lifestyle opportunities in your chosen Manitoba community.

Note: Neither an accepted request, an actual visit and interview, nor an Invitation to Apply to the MPNP suggest guarantee of approval of your eventual MPNP Online application, nor approval of a nominee’s subsequent, separate permanent resident visa application to the Government of Canada.

Points assessment

The MPNP will complete a full assessment of any application it receives and score each applicant based on the information supporting documentation you provide at that time, and according to the current criteria and information on eligibility, policy and procedure published on this website.

Click here for a PDF version of the self-assessment worksheet.

Factor 1: Language Proficiency

Language points are calculated according to documented proof of training and ability in one or both of Canada’s official languages, English and French. If you are proficient in both, choose as your first language the one you are most comfortable using.

You must submit valid official results of a recent MPNP-approved language test as proof of your language proficiency. To be considered valid, your test must have been taken no more than two years prior to the date you submit your MPNP Online application.

CLB refers to the Canadian Language Benchmarks (or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens [NCLC] in French). For information on approved tests and how test scores relate to CLB levels, please see the Language Proficiency section of this website.

Applicants whose occupation is classified at TEER 4 or 5 (previously NOC C or D) must, in order to be eligible to apply, have at least CLB/NCLC 4.

Factor 2: Age

Age points are calculated according to the date your full application is received by the MPNP.

Factor 3: Work Experience

Work experience points are based on documented proof of full-time employment in the past five years. Only full-time jobs of six months (continuous) or longer are considered.

Factor 4: Education

Education points are based on documented proof of completed education and/or training programs at recognized education institutions. A completed program is one for which you have met all requirements and received a certificate, diploma or degree. The MPNP reserves the right to require a third-party assessment to demonstrate trades education and training are comparable to Canadian standards.

Factor 5: Adaptability

Adaptability points are calculated according to documented proof of an established connection to Manitoba and employability in your assessed occupation, demonstrating that you have the genuine intention and ability to successfully settle and economically establish in Manitoba as a permanent resident.

A connection to Manitoba is required of all applicants. You can only receive points for one type of connection, even if multiple apply to you.

In addition to adaptability points, you may also score points for regional immigration for having a connection to, and planning to settle in, a region of Manitoba outside the city of Winnipeg. Regional points are supplemental only and cannot be a substitute for another connection to the province.

Who cannot apply to the MPNP?

The following are not eligible to submit an application to the MPNP:

• Refugee claimants, or individuals involved in a federal appeal or removal process
• Live-in Caregivers currently living in Canada
• Temporary foreign workers currently working and residing in a province other than Manitoba
• Spouses of Canadian citizens or permanent residents
• Individuals who have been refused by the MPNP within the last six months and who are not able to address the reason(s) for refusal
• Individuals who have an active immigration application with any other provincial immigration program or federal immigration program in Canada. Note: an Express Entry profile is not considered an immigration application.

If you or your spouse already have an active MPNP application, you are not eligible to submit an additional application to any other stream/pathway of the MPNP.